Casket seal structure



l May 27, 1952 B, F. PAUL GASKET SEAL STRUCTURE Filed sept. 22, 1949 Paltented May 27, 1952 STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,5sg422, GASKET SEAL STRUCTURE eeased Application September 22, 1949, Serial'No. 117,172

This invention relatesfto a.. casket seal' structure.

'I-'he chiefiobject ofthe present invention is to seal the casket'. lid: tothe casket body bymeans controlled? externally of `the-casket.

The chief feature of thepresent invention ref' sides inassociating a one-piececasketlid or top with a-seal that. extends entirelyv around theA body ol?v thefcasket'-, thelidi whenfclosed bearing upon saidseal.

Other objects and features of the invention l() will be vsetforth more fully hereinafter.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from thel accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is. a, perspective. view of a one-piece top type casket; the seal control being disposed at the casketI end as illustrated.

Fig.`A 2 is an enlarged end; elevation of the said control and a portion of the end of the casket body.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is. a :somewhat similar view of a slightly 25 modified form of the invention.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I0 indicates a casket body having the usual carrying handles, bars,- etc., attached thereto and II shows a one-piece lid. Whena half couch eiect is desired, a supplemen'tal half-length interior lid may be provided.-` Mention is herein made thereof solely for the purpose of pointing out that it can be ineluded or'ornitted as desired.

Peripherally enveloping the top of the body is a shield member I2 having an inturned lower flange I3 and an upper inturned shorter ange I4. This shield is suitably secured to the body and herein screw I5 serves such purposes. Spot welding, and the like may be utilized if desired.

The l`upper portion of the casket body includes the frame member I6 partially masked by the body sheet metal having outer upper ledge portion I1, inwardly directed top face I8 and downwardly turned internal flange I9 exposing por- 45 tion I6 for tacking and like purposes.

The casket lid II has outwardly and downwardly directed portion 20 with depending skirt 2| and inturned bottom face 22 terminating in upturned inner ange 23, same comprising a retainer for the frame 24 and exposing it for tacking purposes. Since the arc upon which the casket lid edge 25, which can be a bead, swings is Y of quite large radius only slight clearance is required between said lid edge and flange edge Ma.

4. Claims. (Cl. 27-17) An angle sectioned sealing cushion strip of rubber or rubber like material having horizontal portion 26 and vertical portion 21 is provided. Itextends entirely around` the body of the casket. Portion 26 rests upon face I8. Portion 21 is backed by a resilient spring-like steel strip 28 that has straight runs along theA sides and ends and has. substantially. square corners. Strip 23 is so. formed that, when viewed inplan it has a rectangular outline and is normallyfbiased toward enlargement of that outline. f The rubber` strip portionv 21v is suitably secured'` to said metal strip 28 asY by 'adhesive or other types; of bonding agents.

Note that thismetal strip 28 is. trapped within the upstandi-ng masking portion I2 and the inturned ange I4 thereof and by flange I8. When the lid I I. is lowered, its lower face 2 2 bears upon the peripheral sealing gasket portion 26 which bears upon top face I 8. Hence a wide seal is provided.

Fig. 3 shows the lid lowered and peripherally gripped and sealed. At an end of the casket the masking portion I2 is interrupted or notched out as at 30 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This exposes the ends 29 of the steel strip 28 and the vertical cushion seal portion 21.

One end of strip 28 mounts a hook 32 and bracket 33. The other end thereof mounts bracket 34 that pivotally mounts finger lever 35 carrying locking loop 36 as shown. Loop 36 is adapted to engage hook 32 and be locked over center when nger lever 35 is disposed parallel to the strip which carries it.

When so locked the metal band 28 is tautened about the lower ledge of the lid and clamps the same in lid-body locked position with the seal 21 therebetween as well as seal 28.

Whenever it is desired or required to constrain seal portion 21 and steel strip 28 outwardly, there may be provided as at the corners the L-sectioned spring lingers 31, see Fig. 4, the upper end 38 of which is welded in masked relation to the under face of flange I4. This nger extends into cushion 21 and is covered thereby.

It tends to dispose the band and seal 21 in outward position. When clamped, however, these ngers yield inwardly under such clamping action.

A key lock can be applied to each toggle lock to prevent unauthorized opening of the toggle thereby locking the lid and body together.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modications described herein as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. In a casket having a body section and a lid section therefor, the combination therewith of a mask secured to said body section and projecting thereabove, said mask substantially encircling said body section and terminating in an inwardly directed flange, said lid section when closed being telescopically received by said mask, said lid section when closed together with said mask and said flange dening a space, combined clamping and sealing means encircling said lid portion when in closed position and disposed within said space, a portion of said sealing means extending horizontally inwardly and lying between said lid and body sections, and externally exposed means connected to said clamping means for tautening said clamping and scaling means about said lid section.

2. In a casket having a body section and a lid section therefor, the combination therewith of a mask secured to said body section and projecting thereabove, said mask substantially encircling said body section and terminating in an inwardly directed ange abutting said lid section when in closed position, said lid section when in closed position together with said mask and said flange defining a space, combined clamping and sealing means encircling said lid section when in closed position, said clamping means comprising a resilient metal strip disposed within said space in proximity to said 4 mask, said sealing means comprising a rubberlike sealing cushion having a vertically extending portion and a horizontally disposed portion, said vertically disposed portion being secured to the inner face of said strip and lying within said space, the horizontally disposed portion of said cushion lying between said lid and body sections, and externally exposed means for tautening said clamping and sealing means about said lid section.

3. In a casket having a body and a full length lid, the combination therewith of a mask secured to said body and projecting thereabove, said mask substantially encircling said body section and terminating in an inwardly directed flange. said lid when closed being telescopically received by said mask, a cushion type seal and metal strip device disposed in close proximity to said mask and substantially filling the space dened by said lid when in closed position together with said mask and said ange, said seal having a portion extending inwardly and lying between said lid and body, and means for tautening said device about said lid when said lid is closed.

4. A casketstructure as deiined by claim 3 wherein there is provided yielding means normally biasing said device towards mask engagement to facilitate lid closing and being yieldablc when said device is tautened into lid engagement.

BENJAMIN F. PAUL.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Doleman Oct. 2, i934 Number 

